WorkCover claims for paramedics up 1100%

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Stress and fatigue among paramedics were responsible for a 1100
per cent blow-out in the cost of WorkCover claims made by the
Metropolitan Ambulance Service, the Opposition said yesterday.

The service's 2003-04 annual report, tabled in Parliament
yesterday, showed claims for work-related injuries had ballooned to
$1.86 million from $277,454 last year. The service had targeted a
claims total of $161,000.

"Ambulance officers are struggling under huge burdens with
massive overtime and inadequate rest," Opposition health spokesman
David Davis said. "It's no surprise that we've seen a blow-out in
WorkCover claims. It's a sign of the stress in the system and the
Government's poor industrial relations policies."

Ambulance Employees Australia state secretary Rod Morris said
paramedics were regularly working 14-hour days and being asked to
come in on rostered days off. "What's really clear is that injury
rates are enormous and it's mostly because we're under-resourced,"
he said. "It's absolutely shocking."

But ambulance chief executive Greg Sasella said the service's
occupational health and safety record was "actually a success
story", saying that the increase in claims was largely the result
of increased paramedic numbers and improved safety education.